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2018 BMW G310GS rolling review and mods

boy am I going to be busy friday, the SW-Motech skid plate is here and "by 8pm" tomorrow the engine bars and tank bars are supposed to arrive, as is also the headlight led conversion kit, and the led upgrade turn signals front and rear.
 
now for accessory reviewing:
SW-Motech skid plate is a work of art, I almost put it to the buffing wheel to polish it to a chrome like shine but came to my senses. :lol2:

it mounts using the factory mounting points plus a additional bracket at the front that BMW apparently had anticipated as the bracket SW-Motech supplied bolted right up to four points already there and already tapped by BMW.

the Hepco- Becker engine bars also mount to pre existing mounting points supplied by BMW, the front mount points are the upper mounts for the SW-Motech bracket, H&B appears to have somewhat anticipated this as with the skid plate you just delete two spacers that would go where the skid plate bracket is if it wasn't there.

the right side went straight on, the left side not so much,:doh: the bracket required a slight tweak for the back bolt to line up and it also required the top back corner of the skid plate to be ground down a couple mm to clear the bracket.

the Hepco becker tank bars at first looked simple and easy to mount but it quickly went downhill from there.
the bottom mount is onto a existing mount on the engine bars and at the front it mounts to the spot where the front beak mounts when started with the lower supplied bolts it sits 3/8 of a inch to low at the front with the holes lined up, it also apparently was supposed to use the stock bolts that even if it lined up right, they would have been to short.

after some calculating cussin and head scratching a trip to home depot to scrounge the metric bins I was able to come up with just the right spacers and allen screws to mount it up after dropping said screws and spacers a couple dozen times.
 
ok, lets see if this is going to work.
B5CEE414-4522-4DD5-9A59-CF5A34E72A4D_zpsnl0ldbdp.jpg
 
Looks pretty good to me. Like a jungle gym.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
Himalayan.jpgThis may be the craziest motorcycle comparison ever. Just got my copy today will read tonight. Both made in India is why they even dare to compare. Two different scooters if you ask me, The 310 has much more hp even with less cc's. This is the only non biased magazine I know of no bike advertisers (supposedly) I look forward to it every month.
Leon your bike looks choice with all the necessary equipment.
 

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Read the article, ****!/2 for 310 GS, *** for Himalayan which is basically an overweight 434 pounds underpowered 21 hp lousy no brake 70 mph max. vibrating toy. It does have 21 lbs torque and 9 inches ground clearance. I like my Royal Enfield 500, but have always told people it is a good second bike for back road putting easy to work on and dependable.
Rider report really liked the 310GS. on pavement and alright on dirt roads. I really like it too.:sun:
 
Read the article, ****!/2 for 310 GS, *** for Himalayan which is basically an overweight 434 pounds underpowered 21 hp lousy no brake 70 mph max. vibrating toy. It does have 21 lbs torque and 9 inches ground clearance. I like my Royal Enfield 500, but have always told people it is a good second bike for back road putting easy to work on and dependable.
Rider report really liked the 310GS. on pavement and alright on dirt roads. I really like it too.:sun:

I like it three! :rider:
 
Rider July 2018 issue. Here we go again.
 

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swapped out the Indian scooter exhaust for a propper European system.

CAC33D49-BDF1-4278-B171-D5BF4721F5DC_zpsw7qiu6ar.jpg
 
That tail light assembly needs to go next - love what you've done so far. I'm intrigued by this bike - when I get back home I'll have to go down to the local dealer and throw a leg over.

Keep the pix and reviews coming.

Dave.
 
That's a beautiful pipe. Perhaps a video as you wound it out on a twisty road would let us hear it's music.
 
I like that front wheel chock. What kind is that?

I've been wondering how many mods you've done in total at this point. I'm starting to think it never ends with any bike.
 
I like that front wheel chock. What kind is that?

I've been wondering how many mods you've done in total at this point. I'm starting to think it never ends with any bike.

I got that chock at Northern tool it is a store brand cheepie.

mods, hmmm
Hepco Becker engine case guard
Hepco becker tank guard
SW Motec skid plate
TomTom rider 400gps
Osram silverstar ultra headlight bulb (Had LED conversion but its High beam coverage was weak)
Denali D2 2.0 trioptic riding lights with the optional Datadim dual intensity controller
Schroedie roundel combo running turn signal light disc
Denali B6 LED license plate brake light
Akrapovic stainless exhaust system
wolfman tail bag

update: add SWMotec center stand and Tractive rear shock.

if you buy a G310GS make the tractive shock your first modification, huge improvement!
 
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Leon, thanks for all this info.

Can you share some thoughts on comparing the CRF250L and the G310GS?
 
Leon, thanks for all this info.

Can you share some thoughts on comparing the CRF250L and the G310GS?

hmmm :ponder:

pretty much totally opposite bikes for both bikes being on/ off road bikes.
the Honda (little orphan Annie) stock is very flickable and changes direction quickly. this unfortunately makes it quite nervous and scary above 60mph on the road, cranking front tire pressure well over what honda recommends stops the head shake this bike is prone to developing at speed.
the BMW (Gunther) rides like a much bigger bike, rock solid and stable you can look around and it will stay the coarse, look around on the Honda and it will go where you are looking including right into that tree.

both bikes need suspension work, the 310 needs it the most as the rear shock is, pardon the pun, "shockingly" bad, the 250l works just fine as a play bike, it will go through pretty much anything a more capable dirt bike will go through, just not as fast. want to go fast then put the racetech or the propilot mods on it and it will handle the bumps and jumps with the best of them.
the 310GS shock stock has a way weak spring and virtually no damping, it actually pogos, the tractive shock from rally raid is so much better, it feels firm but soaks up everything I could throw at it. I got the "low" shock for my short legs, off the bike it is a few mm shorter (it can be adjusted even shorter) put it on the bike and it is taller LOL stock there is 3 inches sag without anyone on the bike.

power: stock the pre 18 crf250l makes 18hp at best and no torque, I have no clue what Honda was thinking when they decided to detune the cbr250 engine. the cbr was not exactly a road burner to start with, choking it down just made people mad, fortunately the aftermarket was on its game and products to boost power came out quickly. for 2018 they have finally uncorked it as they are tired of people screaming for the much better 300 engine. :headbang:
the 310GS stock makes 34hp and that is even with the craziest intake restriction I have ever seen on a bike, the inlet to the air box is less than half the size of the throttle body, and my lawn mower has a bigger air filter.
yank the air box and slap on a K&N cone filter and reflash and it should make 40hp easy.

the 310 engine is a sport bike engine they based the design of the cylinder head on the 1000RR and it shows, huge ports and valves it don't start pulling good till 5000rpm and comes on the cams good at 7000rpm
that works good on road but hurts it off road, the fly wheel is to light for technical work and it is geared for launching across a intersection not across a log
 
comfort, the 310gs comes with a very nice seat, you can ride cross country on this seat. the Germans clearly know a lot more about American back sides than the Japanese. the CRF seat IS cruel and inhuman punishment banned by most countries as inhuman treatment that should be outlawed.:rofl:
 
Thanks for the info.

This video made it sound like the 310 is capable off road as well:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH_r3p7RCwE"]Dirt Test BMW G 310 GS - YouTube[/ame]
 
take the street tires off it and it would be better. did forest service roads on it and it rips down gravel just fine. just not sure I would want to do single track on it when I have a 250L.
 
This guy was not a fan, it seems:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sWpJmMdXbA"]2018 BMW G310GS - MC Commute - YouTube[/ame]

He said he preferred the CRF250L off road and the Versys 300 on road to the BMW.

Kinda hoping Honda does a CRF450L Rally. That might be a sweet bike.
 
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